Need Advice Please - Unjustly Charged with Careless Driving

What is the name of your state? Florida

Hello, first of all I would like to thank whomever can help me. I was given a ticket for careless driving yesterday. I tried to stop at a stop sign and my brakes failed to function(I was going 25 MPH, under the posted speed limit), sending me into oncoming traffic and I was involved in an accident which in luckily no one was hurt. I tried to stop well ahead of the stop sign and my car continue to move forward, I even tried the emergency brake. After the accident, I had brakes; but I suspect that the wet road conditions were the cause of my temporary brake failure(which happened half a block away from my home at a stop sign I stop at almost daily). Aside from that, the brake indicator on the dashboard display is telling me there is something wrong with the brakes after the accident and it remains on at this time. I am in a quandary, and it may have been a combination of bad driving conditions and an inexplicable temporary brake failure. I know temporary brake failure is a highly unlikely occurence due to mechanical factors alone, but by the same token I know for a fact my car had absolutely no braking ability moments prior to the accident; although the police officer who responded to the scene of the accident didn't see it that way and charge me with an infraction which I feel I am not at fault for since there was no criminal intent nor carelessness on my part. He told me "I was not here to witness the incident and that's why I'm giving you this ticket. Bring proof of your brakes being defective to court and the judge will drop the charge.". My opinion is, I should not have been charged with what the officer is "supposing" I am at fault of and "supposing" I was being careless simply because he has no way of telling if I am being honest with him or not. The reason I am most appalled by the citation is that I have a spotless criminal and driving record, and to have it tarnished by something I could not avoid and had no control over is a miscarriage of justice in my opinion. And, if I am indeed at fault for my brakes not working and that makes me a careless driver, the law itself must be as wrong as the officer who ticketed me in my opinion. Thanks for taking the time to hear me out and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Gee, thanks for all that.
Did you have a legal question in there somewhere??

Driving a vehicle with an active brake failure indicator on and when you knew the brakes were defective is careless driving. You could have killed somebody. You are responsible for the proper safe functioning of the vehicle. You are responsible if you hit another vehicle.

Hope you have a lot of insurance if sued by the people you hit due to your negligence.

Next time your brakes fail, pull over and call a tow truck to have the vehicle repaired.

To Maimiman

I know something about brakes. Could you provide the year and model of car, the outside temperature at the time the accident happened, how long the car had been running (maybe just a few minutes if you had just left your home), and how long it had been since the car was last running - the night before, or?

I also assume that the brake light was not on before the accident, only after. If I got that wrong, let me know.

Pug

Pugilist said:

To Maimiman

I know something about brakes. Could you provide the year and model of car, the outside temperature at the time the accident happened, how long the car had been running (maybe just a few minutes if you had just left your home), and how long it had been since the car was last running - the night before, or?

I also assume that the brake light was not on before the accident, only after. If I got that wrong, let me know.

Pug

Click to expand...

Oh, Christ!!! What a moron!!!

Okay, the police officer could care less that your brakes failed. All he, and the person that you hit, is concerned about, is the fact that you didn't stop at the stop sign (for whatever reason), and because of your failure to stop at the stop sign, you caused an accident.

Who should have been blamed for causing the accident? Also, you said that the roads were wet. Wet roads are not going to be listed as the cause of the accident.

How will you be able to prove that your brakes failed at that particular moment? If you could prove that your brakes failed at that particular moment, then what? You still caused an accident.

edit: Just looked at your state. Hopefully, you have liability coverage on your auto insurance policy. Otherwise, that ticket is the LEAST of your concerns.

My grandparents lived in Ocala and sometimes had ice on the birdbath in the morning. Was it neer freezing? But I have also noticed that people in the south who are not used to snow seem be accident prone when rain brings road oil to the surface (almost like ice).

If there is something mechanically enough wrong with your car that a brake failure (or ABS?) light remained on, a mechanic should be able to determine the problem. Did the pedal go to the floor or shudder? Even with some ABS systems it is possible to lock up all 4 wheels so it cannot tell if you have stopped or are still sliding down a slippery slope.

bottom line:

it is not up to the police to determine fault or guilt. He ticketed you for what he saw as the probable reason for the accident. He even told you that if you can prove defective brakes, take that evidence to court. (still don't see you getting out of everything though, after all you ultimately did cause the accident.)

the courts will decide fault and guilt. If you feel you are not guilty, take your evidence and hop on down to court to fight it.